The COVID-19 virus, and the lockdown it has necessitated have dealt many of us a punishing blow. Some of us have been directly affected by it and may even have lost loved ones to it. Even those lucky enough to have avoided the virus itself have not been lucky enough to avoid the grievous social and economic impact it has had on all of our lives. While some have been able to work from home (albeit at a reduced rate of pay), others have been placed on furlough or simply let go by their employers. Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin is one particularly egregious example of this- telling his 40,000 plus employees to seek employment with supermarket giant Tesco. Still, while taking to the supermarket shelves is a vital and important service to our nation, we can’t blame entrepreneurially minded readers for wanting to make a living on their own terms rather than swapping out one employer for another.
This could be just the push you need to start your own business. Even under these difficult circumstances, there’s still ample consumer demand out there. Here are some things to keep in mind when making money from your own home business on lockdown…
Start out with the right product
Consumer confidence is at a new low. But still, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t opportunities to be mined in the current climate. It’s just a case of identifying the right product (or service). You need to choose something for which you have both passion and knowledge. However, you also need to be able to ascertain a quantifiable demand for your product. In this uncertain moment, people are more reluctant than ever to part with their cash. So you need to marry your knowledge and passion with the current needs of the market.
Masks and other protective equipment are proving popular, as are little household luxuries like chocolate and alcoholic drinks. Home exercise equipment is also selling like proverbial hotcakes. It’s simply a matter of carrying out some market research and finding the right product/s on which to build your nascent brand.
Consider dropshipping for a low risk retail opportunity
Virtually every business idea involves some sort of overhead costs while you get yourself up and running. Indeed, this often proves a stumbling block for cash-strapped would-be entrepreneurs. Still, there are some business models which are virtually risk-free. If you want to get into online retail but have neither the capital nor the space to store huge quantities of inventory, you might want to consider dropshipping.
Dropshipping frees you of the restrictions of conventional supply chains. You can sell products via your own website or through trusted channels like Amazon or eBay. You buy supplies directly from manufacturers and sell them on to consumers on an as and when basis, so there’s no need for warehousing.
Turn your blog into bucks with affiliate marketing
If you have a blog, YouTube channel or other online outlet with a large and loyal following, you might be missing out on an opportunity to make money with affiliate marketing. Affiliates can make money by giving their followers a link which they can use to buy products from brands that they already know and trust. For every sale you make, you get a small commission.
There are Affiliate Marketing Courses for beginners which can help to get you started on the right track and get turning a profit sooner. Thus, you can make money (lots of it) while also doing something that’s creatively rewarding. That’s the dream, isn’t it?
Could other businesses benefit from your expertise?
Some may want a completely clean break from their former lives as employees. They may want to start out doing something completely different, which gives them the fulfilment that they didn’t get under the corporate yoke.
There are others, whoever, who may want to capitalise on their experience in business rather than turn their backs on it. For those people, turning to consulting may just be the perfect opportunity. After all, businesses of all shapes and sizes are floundering and looking for guidance, to help them to remain operative in this uncertain time. If you can help them with this, there are ample opportunities to make money by lending them your expertise online.
Don’t give up!
Nobody’s saying it’s going to be easy. Nobody’s suggesting that you won’t encounter challenges. Still, you may never get a better opportunity to reverse your fortunes and take your career and your livelihood into your own hands. The actions you take now could continue to lead to positive outcomes long after the lockdown is lifted.
Believe in yourself and don’t give up!